Responsibility
by Kalysia
Summary: He was just telling himself the obvious. He was responsible for what had occured that night.
1. Finding Out

Title: Responsibilty

Author: Michelle

Rating: PG-13 - Language, Adult Content, Slash

Spoilers: Season Two Finale

Disclaimer: Characters and past storylines are property of their original owners and creators. I own nothing, except in the case of the odd original character or two.

Author's Note: My second piece in the _Nip/Tuck_ universe, and my first in the _Nip/Tuck_ Slash department. That said, I would like to pose a favor of everyone who may be anti-slash.

Anti-Slashers: If you don't like Slash, don't read this story, and, please, don't review it, either. That way, we can all be happy, and go about our lives. Thank you.

Anyway, I was left at quite a stand-still by the end of the finale. (The phone rang about thirty seconds before the end, and that kind of killed my hype). So, in the spirit of answering the questions left after an excellent cliffhanger, I wrote this story. (That is not to say that I _know_ the answers. This is just my own version). Enjoy!

Summary: He was just telling himself the obvious. He was responsible for what had occured that night.

* * *

Sean would have pushed his way through the doors of the building, had they not been automatic sliding doors. He had driven like a mad man the entire way to his currently location, having received the call from Julia just a few moments before hand. He had been in such a tremendous state of shock, that he had managed to drop the phone receiver on the floor. Truth be told, Sean was still in the same amount of shock, but, somewhere, anger had mixed in with the rest of his feelings, leaving him unsure of just what he was feeling.

Passing through the waiting room in all but a run, Sean reached the check-in desk, and began to speak to the first woman that he saw in a uniform.

"Where can I find Christian Troy?" he asked, frantically. Now was not the time for a calm, quiet demeanor; it was the time to be royally pissed off.

A middle aged woman, with a light complexion, dark hair, and dark eyes, looked up at him.

"Are you family?" she asked, her tone very professional. She raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows up at him, and awaited his response.

Sean gave the woman before him a look to kill over, before responding. "Look, uh," he paused, as he searched her uniform, quickly, for a name tag. Finding one, he continued. "Sandra, I don't have time to answer to hospital policy. My partner, Dr. Christian Troy, was admitted here a few hours ago. I want to know where he is." He stared at the the woman for a minute, releasing a loud sigh in the process.

"Just a minute," she said, with a monotone sigh of her own. She went to her computer, and typed in a few things. Sean stood at the desk, the height of which reached to just below his chest, and nervous drummed his fingers on the surface.

How could he have been so stupid? Why didn't he see it? He had said that he was willing to risk injury to catch the Carver, but, he had meant _his own_ life, not the lives of those that he loved. Not the lives of those individuals that had absolutely nothing to do with this entire mess.

"_It's my fault_," he thought to himself, silently. The same thought had run through his head more times in the past hour than what he cared to count, and, every single time, he was just telling himself the obvious. Sean was telling himself the truth; he was responsible for what had occured that night.

Sean heard a loud beep, which made him jump, and was followed by a feminine voice.

"Here we go."

Perking up, Sean came back down to reality. "_Hospital. Got it._"

"What injury did you say that your friend was admitted with?" the woman asked, as if it was not a very big deal, making Sean a little angry. "Sir?"

Sean shook the thought from his head. "Um," he began, but hesitated, again; should he say it? "Um, I'm not sure," he responded, deciding to avoid any unneeded dialogue with anyone, if at all possible. All that he wanted was the information that he was waiting on, so that he could go and see Christian.

With another loud beep from the machine, the woman behind it looked back up at Sean, raised her left eyebrow, and went back to looking at the computer screen. Sean was about to inquire, but, before he could say anything, he was cut off.

"Sean!" He turned at the sound of his voice being called out, to find Julia rushing in his direction.

"Julia!" he called back, as Julia found her way up to him, and in to a tight embrace. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," she said, her voice cracking. "No one will tell me anything." Slowly, Sean closed his eyes, and nodded, slightly. Julia wiped her eyes with the back of her right hand. "Why in the hell didn't you answer the phone when I called?" she screamed, angrily.

Sean was startled by Julia's sudden rise in the volume of her voice, and opened his eyes. "I was..." He couldn't find the words to finish his sentence, and turned back around, to look at the dark haired woman behind the desk, once again. "Did you find him, or what?" he asked, raising his own voice.

"Sean," Julia began, in a whisper, and placed her hand on Sean's shoulder. Sean shrugged her hand off.

"No, Julia," he replied, as he angled his head, just a bit, and moved his eyes, to look at the floor. Looking back the the woman, he raised his voice again. "Well?"

The attendant bit on her bottom lip for a moment, eyes still fixed on her computer screen, before looking up at Sean. He stared back at her, his glare as unfriendly as he could manage. He watched, as she opened her mouth to speak, and uttered the two words that made his entire body go completely numb.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

Author's Note: I will put up a new chapter, soon. I await your kind words! Thanks for reading! Until the next chapter...


	2. Changes

Disclaimer: Characters and past storylines are property of their original owners and creators. I own nothing, except in the case of the odd original character or two.

Author's Note: Okay, sorry about the cliffhanger! We've all had enough of those over the past week, I know. I need to correct what I said about this being my second _Nip/Tuck_ piece. It is, in reality, my _third_ piece in this fandom. That aside, I hope that you enjoy the second chapter!

* * *

He watched, as she opened her mouth to speak, and uttered the two words that made his entire body go completely numb.

"I'm sorry."

Sean stood by the desk, not moving an inch. Did he just hear her right? Did the attendant just say that she was _sorry_?

As if to have read Sean's mind, Julia spoke up.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice just as shakey as before.

Sean looked up at her, his face full of anguish. What had happened to Christian? Was he alright? What had he done?

The attendant cleared her throat, once, and rose from her seat. Sean felt his stomach flip itself around, and immediately wanted to follow the instinct to run to the bathroom, and lean over a toilet. He turned his attention to the attendant, as he heard her shuffling around behind the desk. He felt his heart begin to race faster, and began to find it hard to breathe. He thought that he was going to black out, for a minute, before the attendant spoke up, again.

"I'm sorry, but, you can't see him, now," she said, calmly.

Sean released a breath, well aware that he had been holding it in, and swallowed, hard. "_Thank God_," he thought to himself, silently.

"He's in surgery."

With the last three words, Sean jerked his head up, and felt his breath catch in his chest, again. He closed his eyes, tightly, as he felt the room begin to spin. He was getting dizzy, and began to grope for something to lean against; if he didn't, he would hit the floor, hard.

Without a moment's hesitation, Julia grabbed Sean's arm, and guided him by his elbow to a small chair, which sat in the waiting room.

"It's alright, Sean," she tried to comfort. "It's okay. You can sit, now."

Sean did as was suggested to him, and eased down, eyes still closed, trusting Julia's words the entire way down.

"That's it," Julia whispered. "There we go."

Once he was seated on the cold, hard, blue chair, Sean buried his hands in his face. How could he have been so stupid? How could he have let Christian get hurt? What in the hell was Christian in surgery for?

He heard Julia sniffle, once, followed by the sounds of her shoes, as they shuffled across the white tiled floor. The feeling of a pressure on his should almost sent Sean flying across the room, screaming. After a minute, however, he realized that it was just Julia, pressing her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm going to go and find Matt and Annie," she informed him.

Sean lifted his head, for the first time wondering where his children were. "Where are they?"

Julia smiled. "If I knew _that_, I wouldn't be forced to go and _find_ them, no, would I?" she teased. Seeing no change in Sean's features, Julia went back to being serious. "I left them at the front door; Annie needed a drink, and I told Matt to take her to the cafeteria."

Sean nodded, in understanding. As he thought about it, he had to laugh; every time that Annie visited a hospital, it seemed as though she needed a drink. "_She just likes the cafeteria_," Sean thought to himself, silently.

"What?" Julia asked, darting her head back toward Sean.

Sean looked up, realizing that he had subconsciously said the last part out loud. "Nothing," he replied, indifferently. "Nothing."

Julia stared back at him, eyes narrowed, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She shook her head from side to side, dismissing the thought that he had said anything from her mind. Even though she knew that she had heard something, she was not about to debate Sean about it; now just was not the time.

"I thought that you were going to go find our kids?" Sean muttered, as he dropped his eyes to the stretch of floor that lay at his feet. Without moving his head, Sean angled his eyes upward, and looked at Julia. "They might be looking for you, too."

Julia was about to protest the idea of being dismissed, but, she said nothing. Instead, she nodded her head a bit, in agreement, turned, and walked away. As soon as Julia was out of sight, Sean dropped his head back in to his hands, and tried to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill over.

* * *

"_Oh, God," Sean thought to himself, silently, as he heard Julia's voice on the other end of the line. "What's the matter? Are you alright? What happened to the kids?"_

_"Sean, calm down," Julia urged. "Nothing is wrong with us. We're fine."_

_Letting a sigh escape his throat, Sean mentally kicked himself, for going off half cocked. The thoughts ws ironic, to him, as he was still clutching his gun._

_"It's Christian._"

* * *

Sean sat up, in the small hospital chair.

"_Just a dream,_" he thought to himself, silently. "_It was just a dream_." Unfortunately, as he began to look around, Sean realized that it wasn't just a dream; reality had pulled a cruel joke on him, as he slept.

He was about to drop his head back in to his hands, when, without warning, something caught his eye. He looked down, to discover that his bright purple chair coordinated well with the pink on the walls. As he stared at the walls, he couldn't help but wonder something. When had the walls turned pink? A minute ago, they were white, pure, sanitary, unadulterated white. his chair had also been another color. It had been blue, if he remembered correctly. Had he moved? He didn't think so. In a moment of panic, Sean realized that he was alone in the cold room.

"_What in the hell_?" he thought to himself, silently, as he let his eyes frantically wander the room, looking for any signs of other people.

No sooner had Sean satisfied the thought that he was all alone, then did he hear the one voice that he had never wanted to hear, again.

"Hey, homes."

The words sent an ice cold shiver down his already numb spine. Sean looked up from the walls, and saw who he already knew was there.

"What in the hell are you doing here, Escobar?" Sean shouted, angrily, as he jumped up, out of his chair. He didn't want to see the man; he was pissed off enough as it was, without having to see this asshole ever again.

"We've been seein' a lot of each other lately, huh?" Escobar asked, plastering a huge grin on his face. "It's good for the generals to see their comrads, right before the big battle."

Sean twisted his face, in confusion. "What are you talking about?" He stared at Escobar, who smirked.

"You know what I'm talking about, Sean," Escobar commented, flatly. "It's time to kill the Carver."

A look of disgust covered Sean's features, and he felt his blood begin to stir. How could he even suggest such a thing? After this entire mess, how could the man have the balls to say something like that to him?

"What's the matter Sean?" Escobar continued, catching Sean's sudden change of facial expression. "You afraid, or somethin'?"

"I will _not_ go after the Carver, again," Sean stated, his tone reaching a dangerous level. "I will _not_ do again what I have been doing for the past few months."

"Then, what will dear Christian do about his face?"

Sean dropped his head, and closed his eyes. What would Christian do? If Sean refused to do what the Carver warned him _against_ doing, how in the hell would be be able to help Christian out, when he needed it?

With a sigh of defeat, Sean raised his head, and opened his eyes. The sight before him made him jump back, as far as he could, before running in to the small chair that he was sitting in. He tried to scream, but, when he opened his mouth, he was only able to produce a muted sound. He could feel his throat contracting, getting tighter, and he found it hard to breathe, yet again. He closed his eyes, tightly, hoping that, when he opened his eyes, the image before him would be gone. However, when he opened his eyes, the bloodied face of his best friend was still still staring back at him.

"Kill the Carver," came Escobar's voice, through the image of Christian. "Kill the Carver, Sean. Kill the Carver."

"No," Sean murmured, shaking his head, from side to side. "No, this isn't happening."

"Kill the Carver!" came the final shout. This time, however, the voice belonged to Christian.

Out of nowhere, Sean heard the sound of what he recognized as a heart monitor, when the line goes flat. He turned around, to his right, and saw before him the same image of Christian, reaching out his right arm, and begging for help.

"Sean, help me," he whispered. "Help me, Sean. Sean..."

"No!" Sean screamed, as he felt his knees go weak, and buckle, from beneath him. "Christian!"

"Sean..." Christian whispered, again, as his image began to fade from Sean's view.

"Christian!" Sean screamed, again, as the final bits of Christian's image disappeared, completely.

* * *

"Sean?"

Sean jerked up, at hearing his name, and immediately looked around the room; the walls were white, his chair was blue, and people were moving, alive, and well, all around him. He was awake. He was alive.

"Chistian? Oh, God! Where's Christian?"

"Calm down, Sean," Came the same voice from before, causing Sean to look up, again. His fears eased; it was Julia. "you heard the woman earlier. Christian is in surgery."

Sean nodded, trying to catch his breath. He could feel that he was sweating, and he was panting. Looking back up at Julia, Sean tried to start a mild conversation. "Did you find the kids?"

Julia nodded. "I found them. They're fine." Sean breathed a sigh of relief. "How are you?"

Sean turned away, at hearing the question; he didn't want to answer it. He _couldn't_ answer it, not now. Instead, he looked in to Julia's eye, briefly, before dropping his head, and letting it rest in his hands for the third time.

He wanted to see Christian.

* * *

Author's Note: There you have it! Chapter Two, completed! I hope that you enjoyed reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it! I know, it was a little bit out there, but, after all that I have seen, I am convinced that Sean has some pretty vivid, wild dreams. I also believe that Escobar is going to be vital to the Season Three storyline. So, he will also be vital here, in this story. Thanks for reading! As always, I look forward to your knd words! Until the next chapter...


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